11. This Ancient Creed Can Rescue Us From Spiritual Homelessness ft. Glenn Packiam | 011

This year the Nicene Creed turns 1,700 years old, and Glenn Packiam thinks it might be the most important thing the modern church has forgotten how to use. In this conversation, John and Glenn talk about the difference between hope and comfort, how the ancient world considered hope a weakness, and why the Creed's insistence on saying "we believe" instead of "I believe" might be the most countercultural thing a Christian can do today.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Glenn Packiam is the Lead Pastor of Rockharbor Church in Costa Mesa, California, and a Senior Fellow at Barna Group. He is the author of several books, including his newest, What's a Christian, Anyway?, which explores how the Nicene Creed can guide a confused and fractured church back home.Leave us a review for a chance to ask John a question on an upcoming episode. To enter, follow the podcast, leave your review, take a screenshot of it, and email it over with your question to [email protected]. One question per person; screenshot required.

WHAT THIS CONVERSATION EXPLORES

Why the ancient Stoics considered hope a moral weakness, and why the resurrection flips that on its headThe difference between hope and comfort, and why John and Glenn think the church has confused the twoWhat the boat metaphor for faith reveals about setting down your oars without losing your place in the crewWhy the Creed says "we believe" instead of "I believe," and what that costs a culture built around personal validationWhy only 48 percent of people say they trust pastors, and how Glenn thinks the church should respondThe King Charles coronation story that reframes what it means to swear allegiance to JesusWhy "deconstruction" isn't really about doctrine, but about a whole story and communityGlenn's answer to the question, "What does Jesus see about the church that you don't?"

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• What’s a Christian, Anyway? — Glenn Packiam
• This Is Not the End — Glenn Packiam
• The Intentional Year — Glenn and Holly Packiam
• The Intentional Year Journal — Glenn and Holly Packiam
• The Divine Conspiracy — Dallas Willard
• The Denial of Death — Ernest Becker
• Reflections on the Psalms — C. S. Lewis
• Salvation by Allegiance Alone — Matthew Bates
• Tell It Slant — Eugene Peterson
• On Bullshit — Harry Frankfurt
• The Adult Hope Scale — C. R. Snyder

CONNECT WITH GLENN
glennpackiam.com

Formation is a podcast that explores the science and soul of spiritual formation. Each episode brings together the ancient wisdom of the contemplative tradition and the best of modern research. John Ortberg sits down with some of the most rigorous and honest thinkers working at the intersection of faith and human flourishing for extended, unhurried conversations about how we are being shaped. New episodes every other week, wherever you listen to podcasts.

Follow Formation at formationpodcast.com and @formationjohn.Formation is produced by Become New, a community dedicated to helping you grow spiritually, one day at a time. Subscribe for daily teaching from John Ortberg at becomenew.com/subscribe.

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